Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and on the top rack of the grill while the steak is grilling.

Heat grill pan over high heat. Brush steak with oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill on one side until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the steak over and cook to medium-rare doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. Let rest 5 minutes then slice against the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Fill each tortilla with some lettuce, 3 to 4 pieces of meat, onion, grilled tomato salsa, sour cream, and avocado.

Grilled Tomato Salsa:

nocoupons

2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for brushing tomatoes

2 serrano chiles

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled

6 plum tomatoes, halved and seeded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 limes, juiced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Heat grill to high.

Heat oil in a small saute pan and saute the chiles, onion, and garlic until soft.

Brush tomatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until slightly charred and soft.

Transfer tomatoes and serrano mixture to a food processor; add the lime juice and salt and pepper and process until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse a few times (there should be flecks of cilantro in the salsa.) Transfer to a bowl.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I still don't understand the fact that people went crazy over these on Eric's birthday party because they're so easy to make and nothing really fancy. But I guess they're really good! So here's the recipe:

What you'll need:

- Pillsbury crescent rounds (each package comes with 8 so get as many as you and your family will eat)
- Tomato sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni (I cut these into tiny little pieces)
- Dry basil

Instructions:
Open up the dough and spread tomato sauce (don't exaggerate). Spread cheese, then pepperoni then roll the dough and cut it (it comes sort of pre-cut so it's really easy). Arrange the rolls in the pan (I sprayed mine with olive oil spray to make it really easy to remove the rolls out of the pan). Spread more cheese and basil on top of each roll. Bake as directed in the package.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Okay, it's been a long time since I posted on here, but I have an excuse! I just moved back to the U.S from Brazil and my life has been hectic. I only now got pots and pans and since I'm back to cooking everyday, I'll be sharing my favorite ones with you.

So here's the first one!

Ingredients

nocoupons

1 1/2 to 2 pounds fingerling potatoes or red skin baby potatoes

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 Italian mild green pepper, cubanelle, seeded and thinly sliced

1 medium yellow skinned onion, thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, cracked away from skin

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Coarse salt and pepper

2 cups shredded Parmesan, available in tubs near deli -- make sure to get shredded cheese, not grated

Cut fingerling potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on thickness of fingerlings -- thin, small fingerlings may also be left hole, larger potatoes should be quartered to speed cooking process. If you are using small red potatoes, halve or quarter them in the same way.

Cover a large cookie sheet with foil. Place potatoes on cookie sheet. Combine with peppers and onions, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Coat the potatoes, peppers and onions with extra-virgin olive oil just enough to coat vegetables in a thin layer, 2 to 3 tablespoons. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Place potatoes in the oven and roast 20 to 22 minutes, until potatoes are just tender and peppers and onions are crisp at edges. Toss mixture with tongs, turning the potatoes after 15 minutes. When the potatoes are cooked, transfer them to a serving dish and peel the foil off the cookie sheet and discard for super-quick clean up!

While potatoes cook, prepare chicken. Roll out a 2-foot piece of waxed paper or foil near the stove top. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat -- your pan must be very hot when the chicken is added. Pile the shredded cheese on the work surface created with the waxed paper or foil. Season your chicken breasts with black pepper but no salt; the cheese will add enough salt to the taste of the dish. Press the breasts firmly into the cheese. Coat both sides of breasts with as much cheese as possible. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet, 1 turn of the pan. Set breasts into the skillet and cook 7 minutes on each side, until cheese forms an even, golden casing around the tender chicken breasts.

While chicken cooks, combine chopped tomatoes with basil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste.

Drain off any excess oil from chicken as you remove it from the skillet. Top chicken with big spoonfuls of raw sauce and serve with potatoes, peppers and onions.

And for some reason blogger isn't letting me post the other picture.
But I hope you enjoy, it's totally worth it!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

This is one of my favorite recipes for cinnamon rolls. They are easy to make and the apple filling in them is just delicious. The recipe comes from the cookbook "Best-Loved Recipes of all Time." This book is filled with lots of easy delicious recipes.

In a large bowl (I just used the bowl from my Kitchen Aid), put 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat water, milk and butter until very warm. Gradually add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping the sides. Add eggs and 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough in half and roll each into rectangles. Spread apple filling evenly over the dough. Roll up the dough tightly and pinch seams to seal. Cut each roll into equal pieces, it's really up to you how big or small you want to make them, I believe I got about 11 rolls out of each rectangle. Place, cut sides up, in greased 9 inch round pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 45 min. Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar topping and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Enjoy!!

Combine the above ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until thick. Stir in1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. You can let it cool, but I usually don't wait, I just use the filling as soon as I roll out the dough.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I found this recipe the other day and decided to make it. I made a few changes to the original recipe and added them in below. Clint is a huge philly fan, and he said that this was in his top two favorites! That made me feel pretty good. He wouldn't shut up about them and had to tell everyone how amazing they were. I'd have to agree, I was full at half and continued to eat, it was way too good!

Heat griddle to 400 degrees (these sandwiches work best with a griddle but you could make one at a time in a frying pan). While griddle is heating up cut up onions into straws no more then about 1 1/2 inch pieces. Spray griddle with cooking spray or use vegetable oil. Put onions and mushrooms on griddle and use a spatula to move onions and mushrooms so they don't burn. Wait until the onions are almost translucent and add soy sauce, brown sugar and white sugar, just sprinkle on some white sugar to coat lightly. Add in cream cheese in and let melt. Then add green chili’s and roast beef slices. It is easiest if you pull the roast beef slices apart into chunks before cooking. The roast beef doesn't need to be cooked so just wait until it turns a deeper brown then the pinkish color that it has. Mix it together with the onions and mushrooms and separate it into two equal rows. Place two slices of Swiss cheese on each sandwich and then put the steak roll on top like a tee pee. Hold the top like a hot dog bun and put a spatula under it. Gently turn over sandwich by trying to keep as much as you can inside the sandwich as you turn it. Anything left over scoop up and stuff inside. It doesn't have to be perfect. Then put whatever condiments you like on it, like Mayonnaise, tomatoes slices, red or green peppers and lettuce. (We just used mayo)

Roll out the dough over a floured surface. Form small circles (not too thick or thin). Place circles on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 min or until cookies (alfajores) are lightly golden. Let cool and begin uniting the alfajores by spreading dulcedeleche in the middle. Roll sides (where dulcedeleche is) on powdered sugar. Makes about 4 dozen.

***

Note: You can buy dulcedeleche in cans at your local grocery store, look in the Latin section aisle. They are Nestle brand.

Also, you might want to add a little bit of milk to the dulcedeleche so it's not as thick and therefore becomes easier to spread. Make sure you don't add too much milk though.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I actually tasted this cake/flan several years ago at a church activity, but never got the chance to ask for the recipe. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make since it was a chocolate cake and flan baked together, I just didn't know how you accomplish that without mixing the ingredients. I did some searching online and was able to find the procedure for making it-this is also known as the impossible cake. Anyway, I ended up using my own flan recipe and I just bought a box of chocolate cake mix for the cake.

***

Just a few things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you don't over-bake, or the cake will be dry

2. The cake pan I used was a spring-form pan and I believe water was able to creep into the cake pan and also some flan mixture got out at the bottom. I suggest you use a solid bundt pan.

3. During the baking process, the cake will rise and bake at the top and the flan mixture will sink to the bottom and cook there.

***

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of milk chocolate cake mix (follow the instructions as in the box to make the batter)

***

Flan Ingredients:

1 can of evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs

1tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar (for caramel)

***

In a small saucepan, melt the sugar on medium heat until it becomes caramelized, pour on the bottom of a bundt pan.

***

Mix the chocolate cake mix according to the instructions on the box and then pour on top of the caramel.In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the flan: milks, eggs and vanilla. Make sure they are mixed well (mixture will be runny) and then carefully pour over chocolate batter.

Bake cake a Bain Marie for 1 hour at 350 degrees farenheit, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, let cool, invert onto a cake platter. Enjoy!!!!

Note: To bake a cake/custard A Bain Marie, you just need to insert the bundt pan into a larger container and partially fill the large container with water.

Monday, August 9, 2010

I saw this picture on my friend Elizabeth's profile on facebook and asked her what it was. Elizabeth is from Peru and she is such a good cook I figured this dish would be pretty good. She told me what it was and included the recipe. I actually made this dish yesterday and asked her if it was okay to place this recipe on the blog and she agreed. Maybe she'll become a contributor on the blog (she doesn't blog)....but on the mean time she has given me the okay to place her recipes for her.

Below you will find the recipe exactly as she gave it to me (I translated the recipe from Spanish). I did make a few changes: I used less meat and therefore only used 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 1 pepper (green bell pepper b/c I didn't have yellow), I didn't have fresh cilantro or lemon juice so I skipped those.

Also, lately whenever I make french fries...I actually bake them. They are just as tasty and don't feel as guilty for eating them. To bake them, preheat your oven to 425 degrees farenheit. Add salt, pepper and about 2-3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to the potatoes and then place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or so, it really depends on how you want them.

The finished product was very good, it sorta tastes like the fajitas I make only a mild version because they are not spicy. Enjoy!

Place a little bit of oil on a pan and cook the meat, remove the meat when cooked. In the same pan place the onions, sautee approximately 2 min. Add the yellow peppers, tomatoes, salt and pepper, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Cook for another two minutes and then add the meat to the mixture as well as the lemon juice. Mix well and add the cilantro.

Fry the potatoes and reserve. Serve immediately, mixing the french fries, meat and veggies. Serve with rice.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

This is another recipe found in my family cookbook. It was super fast and easy to make and most importantly...it was really good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c chopped pecans

28 frozen Rhodes rolls

3 oz pkg regular butterscotch pudding mix (dry, do not use instant)

1/2 c butter

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 c brown sugar

Place nuts in bottom of greased bundt pan. Add rolls. Sprinkle pudding over top. Melt together in saucepan the butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Pour over rolls. Leave rolls out overnight to rise. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes.

Note: Try and assemble everything late at night. I started mine about 9pm and by 7:30 am, the rolls had risen so much they were overflowing.

Friday, June 25, 2010

What I love about this cake is that it's light, it doesn't make you feel bad after you eat it. It's so delicious!! It's our new favorite cake, and it just made my mouth drool after seeing the photos again!

Bake a yellow cake by the directions on the package. Let cool.

When cake is cool, take the end of a wooden spoon and poke holes, moving the spoon around to make the holes a little bigger.

Make a large box of chocolate pudding and pour about half over cake, before pudding sets up. Spread over cake a few times to work pudding in to holes.

Take remaining pudding and mix with half regular container of cool whip. Spread on top of cake, as icing.

This is one of those recipes that is really easy to make around the add ins you have. I always change up the vegetables I add in it. I tried it with soy sauce for the first time last night and we really liked it. I didn't measure, just put some in. It's a really easy recipe and we have always loved it. We aren't big fans of red sauce, so this is a great way to go around the normal meatloaf recipe.

1 LB. HAMBURGER, THAWED

3 PIECES OF BREAD, TORN

1 EGG

½ ONION, CHOPPED(I PREFER TO SAUTEE MINE)

½ CAN CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP(EITHER MIX IN OR POUR ON TOP - I HAVE ALSO USED A FULL CAN. I MIX IN THE SOUP, SINCE I USE SMALLER DISHES TO BAKE THEM IN)

I HAVE ALSO ADDED IN SHREDDED CARROTS, ZUCCHINI AND MUSHROOMS(IF YOU HAVE THEM ON HAND AND WANT TO ADD THEM)

2 TSP. SOY SAUCE, OPTIONAL(THE AMOUNT DEPENDS ON YOUR PREFERENCE)

GARLIC SALT, OPTIONAL (I SPRINKLE ON ONIONS WHILE I SAUTÉ THEM)

*****

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND FORM IN TO PANS. I USE THREE SMALL CORNING WEAR PANS. USE WHATEVER YOU HAVE ON HAND.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350*BAKE 20-25 MINUTESSPRINKLE BROWN SUGAR ON TOPBAKE ANOTHER 10-15 MINUTES, OR UNTIL ITS COOKED THROUGH.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

A few months ago I subscribed to "Cooking Light" magazine to check out their recipes. I came across this recipe and really wanted to try it, it is a Middle-Eastern dish. The recipe calls for a spice (Tahini) that I was not able to find and therefore made a small change to the recipe, the recipe still turned out great. You will need pita bread and you can find a recipe for this on my previous post. Let me also say, that this turned out to be such a good summery dish, it must be the cucumber in it. I suggest you read the recipe completely before making so you note the changes I made and see what works for you.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (I used cilantro instead)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (I used 1 tsp)

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground coriander

5 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt, divided

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided

3 garlic cloves, minced and divided

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp tahini

4 (6-inch) pitas, halved

1/2 c chopped cucumber

1/2 c chopped plum tomato

1/4 c chopped red onion

***

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon (I added just a bit more) yogurt, 1 tablespoon juice, and 2 garlic cloves. Add chicken; toss to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; saute 6 minutes or until browned and done, stirring frequently. The chicken turned out delicious!

I decided to skip the tahini mixture since I couldn't find the tahini. Instead I decided to use the sauce I make when making Pakora's (see Middle-Eastern label for recipe). The sauce is made with plain yogurt, fresh cilantro, jalapenos and salt. It is a very yummy sauce and personally thought it went great with this dish. I don't know the taste that the tahini gives, but just the mixture I made without the tahini didn't convince me at all and that's why I decided to use this sauce instead.Anyway, after spreading the sauce inside each pita half, divide chicken evenly among each pita. Fill pita halves with cucumber, onion and tomato.

I wanted to try a recipe that required pita bread. I had actually never tried pita bread before and wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. I didn't want to go to the store to purchase them so I decided to look for a recipe and make them at home. The bread turned out really good and it was very easy to make, totally recommend it. I found the recipe on "about.com." I will write the recipe here, but you can also go directly to their site for the recipe by clicking here.

Dissolve yeast and 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Make a small depression in the middle of the flour and pour the yeast water, slowly also add the 1 cup of warm water. Stir with a wooden spoon until elastic.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. You have kneaded successfully when the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky.

Coat large bowl with oil and make sure your dough is coated as well. Place covered bowl in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

When ready, roll out in a rope and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface, cover and let sit for about 10 minutes. In the mean time, preheat your oven to 500 degrees farenheit and make sure the rack is at the very bottom. You should also preheat your baking sheet.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles (about 5-6 inches accross and about 1/4 inch thick). Bake each pita for 4 minutes until bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and continue baking the rest of the pita bread.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I found this recipe in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine (again), but of course tweaked the ingredients. I hope you enjoy the sandwich as much as we do!

SERVES TWO:

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pds. RIB-EYE or EYE-of-ROUND Steak

1 Tbs. OLIVE OIL (I do not have a non-stick skillet, so I doubled the Olive Oil)

1 WHITE ONION

1 RED BELL PEPPER[my addition]

1 SWEET YELLOW PEPPER[my addition]

1 RED JALAPENO PEPPER[my addition]

8 Slices PROVOLONE Cheese

COARSE SALT and GROUND PEPPER

Freeze the Rib-Eye or Eye-of-Round Steak 35 minutes.

Thinly slice the Onion, and Peppers.

Once you remove steak from freezer slice very thinly against the grain with a serrated knife and season with Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper.

In a non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil, and cook the sliced White Onion, and Peppers until onion has browned and all have begun to soften. Transfer Onion and Peppers to bowl. Wipe non-stick skillet clean, otherwise add steak and cook until cooked through and browned around edges.Gather meat evenly into two mounds and top with Onion, Peppers and 4 slices of Provolone per mound. Cook until cheese melts. Serve on toasted Hoagie Roll.

Heat butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions for a couple of minutes, or until starting to get brown.

Put onions in to crock pot and set chuck roast on top of the onions. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover crock pot and simmer (very low heat) for 6 hours, or until beef is fork-tender and falling apart. Shred meat with two forks until all large chunks are gone. Serve immediately or continue to simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

*Mixture can be refrigerated overnight. Remove hardened fat from top of pan before reheating.

Serve on top of toasted, buttered deli rolls. I used Ciabatta Rolls that I got from Wal-mart.Top with cheese and place under the broiler if desired.

I found this recipe on thepioneerwoman.com. I was a little skeptical when I started making it, but it turned out really good! It only makes about four small servings. Make it with the sinful bread I posted earlier, it's a great combo. I also left out the white wine, because I didn't have any. I just used chicken broth in it's place.

WHITE SAUCE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS***1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup½ Cup Sour Cream2 oz. Diced Green Chilies¼ Cup Onion, Chopped (sauté, if preferred cooked)8 oz. Chicken Breast, Cooked (chopped or shredded)5 ea. 6 inch Flour Tortillas¼ Cup Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded (6 cheese blend is good too)¼ Cup Black Olives***Preheat oven to 400*Mix soup, sour cream, chilies, and onions in a bowl. Spread ¼ of mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish. Divide chicken evenly between the tortillas and place down the center of the tortillas. Spoon 2 T. of soup mixture over the chicken in each tortilla. Roll up tortillas and place enchiladas edge side down in the casserole dish. Spoon remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and olives.***Bake 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

Our latest and most favorite recipe is Chicken California. You can add in different vegetables to change it up each time and it's so simple to make. I definitely recommend it. My favorite way to make them is with my "special" sautéed mushrooms and onions. Sauté your mushrooms with butter, soy sauce and brown sugar and you will get such a wonderful flavor. Ignore the fact that they aren't very healthy anymore and just enjoy them!

If you try the recipe, let me know how you made them. I'm always interested in different ideas. A co-worker of mine tried it and she said she cooked her chicken in chicken broth and when the chicken was cooked, she threw in broccoli and onions and let it simmer for a minute then put it in the tortillas. I have thought about adding in rice the next time I make them as well. This recipe is great for variations, just use what you have on hand.

The next time I make them, I will take a photo to post.

CHICKEN CALIFORNIA***

4 TBS. BUTTER

4 TBS. FLOUR

½ TSP. SALT

¼ TSP. PEPPER

2 CUPS MILK

¼-½ CUP VEGETABLES (ASPARAGUS, MUSHROOMS, ONIONS, BROCCOLI, ETC.)

2 CUPS CHICKEN, COOKED & SHREDDED

2 CUPS GRATED CHEESE (I have used different blends of cheese, it doesn't matter.)

8-12 FLOUR TORTILLAS

2 TBS. PARSLEY

AVOCADO

***

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350*

***

MEASURE FLOUR, SALT & PEPPER IN TO SMALL BOWL. MELT BUTTER IN SAUCEPAN OVER LOW HEAT. ADD FLOUR MIXTURE; WHISK UNTIL MIXED WELL. COOK OVER LOW HEAT; STIRRING UNTIL MIXTURE IS SMOOTH AND BUBBLY. SLOWLY STIR IN MILK, WHISKING CONSTANTLY AND HEAT TO BOILING. CONTINUE STIRRING UNTIL SMOOTH AND THICKENED. PUT A SPOONFUL EACH OF CHICKEN, SAUCE, CHEESE AND VEGETABLE IN TORTILLA, THEN ROLL UP ENCHILADA STYLE. LAY SIDE BY SIDE IN 9X13 PAN. SPREAD REMAINING SAUCE OVER TOP AND SPRINKLE WITH CHEESE AND PARSLEY.

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Welcome!

I love to cook and bake and decided to create this blog to share some of my favorite recipes. I'm also pleased to have some great recipe contributions from my sister-in-law Amber. Hopefully we will have plenty of ideas for you. Enjoy!

Patty

p.s. We'd love to hear from you. If you try a recipe, let us know how it turned out.